What is a symphonic suite? "Scheherazade" and its tales in the works of Rimsky-Korsakov. N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov

Symphonic Suite

Orchestra composition: 2 flutes, 2 piccolos, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle, tambourine, snare drum, cymbals, bass drum, tom-tom, harp, strings .

History of creation

“In the middle of winter (1887-1888 - L.M.), among the work on “Prince Igor” and others, I had the idea of ​​​​an orchestral play based on the plot of some episodes from “Scheherazade” ... ”- we read in Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Chronicle”. The composer and his family spent the summer of 1888 in Nezhgovitsy - the estate of his friend in the Luga district of the St. Petersburg province. From there he wrote to Glazunov: “I decided to carry out, at all costs, the orchestral suite for “1001 Nights” that I had started a long time ago; I remembered everything I had and forced myself to study. At first it went slowly, but then it went quite quickly and, in any case, even if illusory, it filled my meager musical life.”

The sad tone of the letter is due to the fact that the 80s were a difficult time for the composer. There was a growing family that needed to be supported. An extraordinary number of different responsibilities - professorship at the conservatory, acting as assistant manager of the Court Singing Chapel, participation in the publishing business of M.P. Belyaev, in concerts of the Russian Musical Society, editing the music of deceased friends - all this left almost no time or mental strength for creativity. Nevertheless, it was during these years that he created wonderful works, including “Scheherazade,” which became one of the peaks of the composer’s symphonic work. The autograph of the score contains the dates of composition of each of the four parts of the suite: at the end of the first part - July 4, 1888, Nezhgowice. At the end of the second - July 11, at the end of the third - July 16, at the end of the entire score - July 26. Thus, the entire work was written in less than a month.

Rimsky-Korsakov based the suite dedicated to V. Stasov on some of the Arabic tales from the collection “1001 Nights,” widely distributed in various (both complete and abridged and adapted) editions. This collection is a monument of medieval Arabic literature, the sources of which go back to Persian legends of the 9th century, finally took shape in the 15th century, and from the 17th century it became quite widespread in the East in lists. In 1704-1717, its first translation into French by A. Galland appeared. Translation into Russian from the French edition was first carried out in 1763-1777. Thus, for more than a hundred years, Russian readers have been widely aware of fairy tales based on Indian, Iranian and Arab folklore, united by the image of the formidable Shahriar and his wise wife, the daughter of the Sultan’s vizier Scheherazade.

The composer prefaced the score with a program he himself compiled at the beginning of the collection: “Sultan Shahriar, convinced of the treachery and infidelity of women, vowed to execute each of his wives after the first night; but Sultana Scheherazade saved her life by managing to keep him busy with fairy tales, telling them to him for 1001 nights so that, prompted by curiosity, Shahriar constantly postponed her execution and finally completely abandoned his intention.

Scheherazade told him many miracles, quoting poets’ poems and song lyrics, weaving fairy tales into fairy tales and stories into stories.”

Initially, the composer gave the title of each part: “The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship”, “The Fantastic Story of Prince Kalender”, “The Prince and the Princess”, “Baghdad Holiday. Sea. The ship crashes against a rock with a bronze horseman. Conclusion,” but nowhere did he give any indication of which fairy tales the listeners were being referred to. Subsequently, he decided to remove these additional explanations for the program: “The search for an overly definite program in my work, which was undesirable for me, forced me subsequently, during the first edition, to destroy even those hints about it (the program. - L.M.) that were in the titles before each part...” Following the composer’s wishes, researchers of his work have never been involved in clarifying the program for the fairy tales of “1001 Nights”. According to the most authoritative researcher of the composer’s work, A. Solovtsov, “it remains unclear exactly which episodes from the famous edition of Arabic tales inspired Rimsky-Korsakov and how, in what musical images they are embodied in the suite.<...>Rimsky-Korsakov quite rightly emphasizes... that “Scheherazade” was based on “separate, unrelated” episodes... Indeed, the paintings chosen by Rimsky-Korsakov are not united by a common plot, this is not a story about any from the heroes of One Thousand and One Nights.

The first performance of “Scheherazade” took place in St. Petersburg on October 22 (November 3), 1888, in the first of the Russian symphony concerts, held in the Assembly of the Nobility under the direction of the author.

Music

Prologue The suite opens with powerful and menacing unisons, depicting, as is commonly believed, the image of Shahriar. After soft, quiet chords of wind instruments, a whimsical melody of a solo violin enters, supported only by individual harp arpeggiatos. This is the beautiful Scheherazade. The violin has sounded, and against the background of the measured figurational movement of the cellos and violins, the initial theme appears again. But now she is calm, majestic and paints not a formidable sultan, but the vast expanses of the sea, the unsurpassed singer of which was the author - a sailor who circumnavigated the world and, like no other composer, knew how to embody the images of the water element. The second theme, sounding in the chordal presentation of the winds, for a moment (only four bars) interrupts the measured movement of the rolling waves. The gentle flute solo follows the same movement. This is the ship of Sinbad the Sailor gliding smoothly over the waves. Gradually excitement rises. The elements are already raging menacingly. Previously heard themes are intertwined, and the figurations of the strings become alarming. The picture of the storm is complemented by exclamations of brass, full of despair. But the storm subsides. The first section of the movement (reprise) is repeated. In its conclusion, the theme of the sea sounds calm and gentle.

Part two The theme of Scheherazade begins, after which the solo bassoon performs a whimsical oriental melody, richly ornamented, developing variations in the timbres of other instruments. This is a story of oriental wonders, increasingly exciting and captivating. The central section depicts the events that the narrator narrates. A picture of a battle unfolds, in which the main theme is the former theme of the Sultan, which has now lost touch with the original image. The rhythmically sharp cry of the trombones, intonationally similar to it, is the theme of the battle. The battle episode is interrupted by an extended clarinet cadenza. With the piercing whistle of high wooden instruments, the sound of which is covered by a piccolo flute, the next episode begins: the fabulous bird Roc flies by. The picture of the battle is repeated, and in the final section the theme of Prince Kalender is interrupted by cadences. “It seems as if the listeners cannot contain their excitement and are heatedly discussing the events described” (A. Solovtsov).

The third part at a calm tempo, Andantino quasi allegretto has two main themes: the Tsarevich - lyrical, smooth, dance-like with simple harmonies on a sustained organ point, with suddenly intruding scale-like passages - and the Tsarevna, similar to the first intonation, but more lively, flirtatious, with the characteristic accompaniment of a snare drum, beating out whimsical rhythmic figures. These themes are repeated, varied, and enriched with new orchestral colors. The development is interrupted by Scheherazade's theme, performed by a solo violin, but its story about the Tsarevich and the Princess continues, which ends with the fading sonority and a gentle arpeggiato of the strings.

Fourth part- the longest and richest in various images. Her introduction is the first theme of the Prologue, which here again changes its meaning. This is no longer the formidable Shahriar and not the expanses of the sea, but a joyful signal for the beginning of the holiday. After a general pause, his last motive sounds. Another general pause. And the capricious, complicated cadence of Scheherazade with the solo violin is not in one voice, as before, but in two voices, with chords at the conclusion. The first theme enters even more violently and furiously. Now it sounds longer and more detailed. The second conduction of Scheherazade's theme also becomes more excited (in three- and four-voice chords of the solo violin). And then, on an ostinato rhythm, a picture of a holiday unfolds with various themes replacing one another. Previously heard themes are woven into the general movement: a motif from Kalender’s story, the Princess’s melody, the warlike cry of the battle scene - as if familiar characters are flashing among the merry crowd. Suddenly, at the culmination of the holiday, the picture changes: a storm begins. The waves rise even more menacingly than in the first part. Passages of harps rise and fall, chromatic scales of high wooden ones. The battle theme from the second part plays. A powerful, fortissimo brass chord, supported by the booming sound of a tom-tom, depicts the moment when the ship crashes on a rock. The movement of the waves calms down, everything gradually calms down. The violin thoughtfully and calmly performs Scheherazade's cadenza. Shahriar's once formidable but now softened theme runs through the strings pianissimo. And the suite ends with the theme of the beautiful sultana, which no longer appeared in full, but in echoes, gradually dissolving in the upper register.

Methodological development on musical literature on the topic "N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov Symphonic Suite "Scheherazade"

Tasks:
Educational: introduce the suite as a musical genre.
Educational: to introduce children to the treasures of Russian musical classics.
Developmental: develop cognitive and thinking skills, formation of musical taste.

Equipment: computer, presentation, stereo system, audio fragments - themes from the suite by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov "Scheherazade".

Slide 1 Title
(music from the 2nd part of the Symphonic Suite “The Fantastic Story of Kalender the Tsarevich” plays in the background with slides 1-6)
Slide 2
A fairy tale... Its whimsical world, in which fiction is so naturally intertwined with reality, attracted many Russian composers.
Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov is a great storyteller in Russian music and a real sorcerer of musical painting. None of the Russian composers gave as much soul to the fairy tale as Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov. Using the language of a fairy tale, he spoke about high human feelings, about the great power of art, and painted picturesque pictures of nature.

Slide 3
But the sea attracted the composer no less than a fairy tale. He admired it not only from the shore. As a young man, he went on campaigns in the Baltic, and as a young naval officer he spent three years sailing. The sea voyage introduced Rimsky-Korsakov to the seas and oceans of different latitudes.
With the keen eye of an artist, he absorbed all the shades, all the changes of the sea elements that surrounded him. And having become a composer, throughout his life he depicted it in orchestral colors. The pictures he created of the sea elements are diverse - sometimes serenely calm, sometimes slightly agitated, and sometimes even menacing and ferocious. In almost every work of Rimsky-Korsakov, be it an opera or a symphony, we will find pictures drawn with sounds, musical painting.
The sea will come to life in his symphonic poems “Sadko” and “Antar”, in the suite “Scheherazade”, in the orchestral scenes of fairy-tale and epic operas.

Slide 4
But the composer was not only fascinated by Russian fairy tales; tales of the East were embodied in vivid images in the symphonic suite “Scheherazade”.
“Scheherazade” is one of the best symphonic works by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, composed during the summer of 1888 and performed on October 22 of the same year under the direction of the author. It was one of the evenings of the “Russian Symphony Concerts” series, which existed at the expense of the wealthy patron of Russian art M.P. Belyaeva.

Slide 5
The composer was inspired to create the suite by the fascinating Arabian fairy tales “A Thousand and One Nights,” which he knew well from childhood.
The collection “1001 Nights” is a monument of medieval Arabic literature, which contains tales based on Indian, Iranian and Arabic folklore, united by the image of the formidable Shahriar and his wise wife, the daughter of the Sultan’s vizier Scheherazade.

Slide 6
At the beginning of the 18th century, the first translation of fairy tales into French appeared.
The Frenchman Galland gave those fairy tales to the world.
He fascinated both Pushkin and Dickens.
Well, who hasn’t visited those stories?
Have you ever known funny nights without sleep?!

Slide 7
(from 7 to 11 slides, music from the 3rd part of the suite “Tsarevich and Princess” plays in the background)
Medieval that Arab region
He had his own quirks and morals...

Slide 8
King Shahriar, deceived by his wife,
I decided to radically eradicate infidelity,
To find lost peace,
He began to act... original.
Any girl who spent the night with him
She was executed in the morning. Example
That execution took place. And no one to help
She couldn't. Anger choked him.
Slide 9
The wise vizier had a daughter -
I figured out how to help the girls.
That plan is simple and cunning -
Scheherazade, starting a fairy tale
I was in no hurry to finish it.
She was sweet until the first roosters
With the dawn, and the permission of the Shah, she went to bed...
He postponed the execution for a day, then for another period,
And the flow of fairy tales never ends!
So, day after day, history was woven
lasted almost three years
Who will waste disfavor
If life is both interesting and to your heart's content...

Slide 10
The brides grew up, but the Shah forgot about them,
To this day he has not cooled down to Scheherazade -
The storyteller has such great power,
The harem was the only one that replaced him.

Slide 11
The suite is based on separate, unconnected episodes from fairy tales... In the “Chronicle” by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov directly points out the programmatic nature of each of the four parts:

The first part of the suite is based on images from the fairy tale about Sinbad the Sailor.
Sinbad, traveling on the sea, gets into a shipwreck. Courage and strength of character help him overcome the formidable sea elements.

Part II – “The fantastic story of Kalender the Tsarevich”
“It has reached me, O great king...” - this is how Scheherazade begins each of her new fairy tales. These words correspond to the inspired violin melody that appears at the beginning of each part of the suite - the theme of Scheherazade. But in part 2, the narrator narrates on behalf of the hero - Prince Kalender. In the East, Kalenders were called wandering monks who lived on alms. The hero of the Arabian fairy tale, the prince, dresses in monastic clothes to avoid danger. The music reproduces pictures of a fantastic battle and the hero's exploits.

The lyrical center of the suite is Part III, the tale of the prince and princess. Its main characters are depicted using two oriental themes - the dreamy and tender theme of the prince in love and the graceful and flirtatious theme of the princess. By the similarity of intonations, the composer emphasizes the common tender feelings between the characters.
The fairy tale is coming to an end.

In the IV part of the suite there are 2 paintings: “Baghdad Festival” and “A Ship Crashing on a Rock with a Bronze Horseman.” “...It has reached me, O happy king,” Scheherazade begins a new tale. But now her melody sounds excited, because she is going to talk not only about joyful, but also about terrible events.
A bright picture of a folk festival in Baghdad - the grand finale of the suite - unites many of its themes, as if “gathering” the heroes of the work at a cheerful holiday. But suddenly the fun gives way to a picture of a menacing, raging sea. The ship rushes uncontrollably towards destruction and crashes against a rock with a bronze horseman.
In the short epilogue of the suite, the main characters appear for the last time: this is the quiet and peaceful theme of Shahriar and the poetic theme of the young and wise Scheherazade that concludes the work.

Thus, there is no single plot development in the suite, that is, in each of the parts the composer creates a new fairy tale, the unifying thread of which is the theme of the charming storyteller Scheherazade, telling her wonderful tales to the formidable Sultan.

Slide 12
The first part “Sea. Sinbad's ship."

Slide 13
Sharkhiar and Sheherazade. A formidable king and a wise storyteller... They appear before us at the very beginning of the suite, in its introduction.
The suite opens with a militant phrase played in unison by brass and strings. It sounds menacingly majestic, reminding the listener of the ferocious character of the eastern ruler Shahriar.
(Shahriar's theme from the 1st part of the Symphonic Suite sounds)

Slide 14
But then a completely different melody is heard: the softly soulful singing of a solo violin to the gentle chords of a harp. This is the beautiful Scheherazade.
(Scheherazade's theme from the 1st part of the Symphonic Suite sounds)

The melody of the violin curls in a sinuous, subtle pattern and resembles an exquisite oriental ornament.
Both themes are not just leitmotifs that unite the entire work: on their basis, Rimsky-Korsakov, using variation techniques of musical development, creates various images, giving the listener real magical transformations.

Slide 15
The first fairy tale “The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship” begins.
Sinbad couldn't sit at home. The wide expanses of the sea called him into the distance and attracted him to the untold riches of overseas lands. And although many troubles awaited him on these wanderings, every time he returned home, he yearned for the sea and again equipped the ship and sailed to distant lands.
(the theme of the Main Part from the 1st part of the Symphonic Suite sounds)

The melody of the main part is based on Shahriar's theme. But now she is calm, majestic and paints not a formidable sultan, but the vast expanses of the sea. The melody shimmers in slow, even waves against the background of a powerful and measured sway of the accompaniment. From time to time, short “bursts” appear and immediately disappear.
It is known that Rimsky-Korsakov had a unique natural gift - colored hearing. The choice of the key of E major for the Sea theme is not accidental. In Korsakov's perception of color and sound relationships, E major was colored dark blue, and sapphire tone was the color of sea water.

Slide 16
(the theme of the Side Part from the 1st part of the Symphonic Suite sounds)

The sea is calm and calm. Among its blue vastness, the ship of Sinbad the Sailor appears on the horizon. He floats gently rocking on the waves, and his smooth glide through the water is depicted by a light theme performed by woodwind instruments.

Slide 17
(music from the development of the 1st part of the Symphonic Suite sounds)
Gradually excitement rises. The elements are already raging menacingly. Previously heard themes are intertwined, and the figurations of the strings become alarming. The picture of the storm is complemented by exclamations of brass, full of despair.

Slide 18
(a reprise from the 1st part of the Symphonic Suite sounds)

But the storm subsides. The theme of the calmed sea runs peacefully through the coda, and the first part ends with the “leaving” theme of Sinbad’s ship continuing its voyage.

Slide 19, 20
(from slide 19 to slide 26, music from part 3 of “The Tsarevich and the Princess” from the Princess’s theme plays in the background)
"Scheherazade" on the stage of "Russian Seasons".

Slide 21
In 1910, while preparing the second Russian season in Paris, Sergei Diaghilev decided to use Scheherazade to stage the ballet by Mikhail Fokine, who had already distinguished himself for several years and became the permanent choreographer of the Russian seasons.
S.P. Diaghilev is a theater figure, art critic, creator of the art publication “World of Art”, organizer of fine art exhibitions. Since 1907, he organized performances of Russian musicians abroad.

Slide 22
The ballet premiered on June 4, 1910 in Paris on the stage of the Grand Opera.

Slide 23
The curtain was made in workshops according to sketches by the famous Russian artist Valentin Serov.

Slide 24
The scenery and costumes were made according to the sketches of Lev Bakst, a Russian artist of the Modern Age, one of the most prominent figures in the World of Art association and the theatrical and artistic projects of S. P. Diaghilev.
The design of this performance, exceptional in beauty and expressiveness, drove Paris crazy..... The influence of this ballet was so great that oriental turbans and bloomers in the style of Bakst came into fashion.

Slide 25
“Scheherazade” has become one of the most popular ballets of the “Russian Seasons”, having been revived at the best ballet stages in the world - the Paris National Opera, the Bolshoi Theater, the Mariinsky Theater, the Musical Theater. K. S. Stanislavsky and V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko and others.
In different versions, staged by different choreographers, “Scheherazade” was performed in many cities of the USSR, but Fokine’s first production remained a true classic of the genre, which is periodically resumed on different stages. The explanation for this is the enchanting music of Rimsky-Korsakov, the bewitching images of Arabian fairy tales from “1001 Nights”.

Slide 26
Resources used:
1. A.A. Solovtsov "Symphonic works of Rimsky-Korsakov". – M., 1960.
2. R. Leites “Musical Tales of Scheherazade” from the collection “Fairy Tale in the Works of N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov". – M., 1987.
3. I.F. Kunin “N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov". – M., 1988.

There are many different genres in classical music: concertos, symphonies, sonatas, plays. They all differ from each other in their structural features, the way the material is deployed, and the type of artistic content. One of the most interesting genres is the suite, a combination of several different pieces united by one idea. Suites are instrumental (for one instrument) and symphonic (for the whole orchestra). What is a symphonic suite in music? In this article we will talk about this using the example of one of the most beautiful works in this genre.

History of the suite genre. Keyboard suites

We owe the phenomenon of the appearance of the suite to French harpsichordists. It was in their work that this genre became most widespread. Initially, the suites were exclusively of an applied nature - it was a set of dances, where fast alternated with slow. There was a certain sequence - alemanda, courante, sarabande, gigue. Moreover, the tempo difference between them looked like this: calm/moving, slow/fast. After the chimes, sometimes one or more inserted dances could follow - a minuet, an aria.

J. S. Bach brought a slightly different meaning to the interpretation of this genre. In his French and English suites, dance remained only as a metrical basis. The content has become much deeper.

What is a symphonic suite?

Romantic composers, known for their love of reviving ancient genres, very often turned to suite forms. There was no longer a trace of dance in them, but the principle of contrast remained. Only now he concerned, rather, the content of the music, its emotional fullness. Answering the question of what a symphonic suite is in the work of the romantics, it is important to emphasize that, first of all, it began to be based on programmaticity. The combination of parts with the main idea gave the symphonic suites integrity and made them close to the genre of the poem. This genre has become especially widespread in the works of Russian composers.

What other symphonic suites are there?

Sometimes symphonic suites were written by composers as an independent work, for example, P. I. Tchaikovsky’s suite “Romeo and Juliet”. Very often they were composed of numbers from some major work, for example, S. S. Prokofiev’s suite based on his own ballet “Romeo and Juliet,” again. There were cases when a symphonic suite became the result of one composer's transcription of another's instrumental work. This happened with M. P. Mussorgsky’s cycle “Pictures at an Exhibition,” which M. Ravel subsequently orchestrated. Most often, the basis of the suite’s programming was a literary work. This is how Rimsky-Korsakov's symphonic suite was written.

Arabian tales in orchestral performance

Russian composers had an insatiable love for oriental themes. Oriental motifs can be found in the work of almost each of them. N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov was no exception. The symphonic suite “Scheherazade” was written under the impression of the collection of fairy tales “A Thousand and One Nights”. The composer chose several unrelated episodes: the story of Sinbad the sailor, the story of Prince Kalender, a holiday in Baghdad and a fairy tale about the love of a prince and a princess. "Scheherazade" came from the composer's pen during one summer in 1888 in Nieżgowice. After the first performance, this work became incredibly popular among listeners, and is still one of the most performed and recognizable compositions.

Musical material "Scheherazade"

Leitmotif is a term coined by the Romantics. It denotes a strong, memorable theme attached to a specific character, idea or character. Recognizing it among the general musical flow, it is easier for the listener to navigate the literary outline of the work. Such a leitmotif in Rimsky-Korsakov’s suite is the theme of Scheherazade herself. The enchanting sound of a solo violin depicts the slender figure of a wise sultana, bending in a graceful dance. This famous theme, which, by the way, is a very serious challenge to the violinist’s skill, serves as the unifying thread of the entire work. She appears before the first, second and fourth parts, as well as in the middle of the third.

The theme of the sea is a very striking musical material. The composer was so successful in conveying the movement of waves using orchestral means that we simply visually feel the breath of the ocean and the breath of sea air.

Form and content: symphonic suite “Scheherazade”

Rimsky-Korsakov did not want the listener to have a certain image when listening to this work. Therefore, the parts do not have program names. However, knowing in advance what images may be found there, the listener will be able to enjoy this magnificent music much more.

What is the symphonic suite “Scheherazade” in terms of musical form? This is a four-part work, linked by a common theme and images. The first part paints a picture of the sea. It is no coincidence that the choice of key is E major. Rimsky-Korsakov, the owner of the so-called color hearing, saw this tonality in a sapphire color, reminiscent of the color of a sea wave. In the second part, the bassoon solo brings the proud and brave Prince Kalender onto the stage, talking about his military exploits. The third part is a love story between the prince and princess. She is full of loving delight and sweet bliss. In the fourth movement, Rimsky-Korsakov made full use of all the colors of the orchestra to convey the unbridled joy at the festival in Baghdad.

So, what is the symphonic suite “Scheherazade”? This is a vibrant work with a tangible oriental flavor, held together by one idea. Every evening, Scheherazade tells her formidable husband, who has vowed to execute his wives after the first night, another fairy tale. Her gift for storytelling is so great that the enchanted Sultan postpones her execution. This continues for a thousand and one nights. We can listen to four of them if we get acquainted with Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade”.

"Scheherazade"- symphonic suite by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, written in 1888. Rimsky-Korsakov created Scheherazade inspired by the Arabian fairy tales One Thousand and One Nights. The work falls within the framework and traditions of the “East” in Russian music, coming from “Ruslan and Lyudmila” by M. Glinka. Thanks to the oriental flavor, created by quoting oriental melodies, themes in the oriental spirit, imitation of the sound of oriental instruments and tones, “Scheherazade” in its form and style is a symphonic suite, that is, a multi-part cyclic musical work written for a symphony orchestra. In addition, the form of “Scheherazade” as a suite is due to the fact that the composer, in the process of working on it, created parts of a musical work, each of which had its own programmatic character and its own name. But later “Scheherazade” as a suite as a whole acquired the character of a symphony. As a result, Rimsky-Korsakov writes a single general program for the symphonic suite “Scheherazade”, removing the proper names of the parts of the symphonic suite and making the latter numbered.

In ballet

Consists of 4 parts:

1. The sea and Sinbad's ship - sonata form with introduction and coda (without development).

2. The story of Prince Kalender is a complex three-part form with an introduction and coda.

3. Tsarevich and princess - sonata form with coda without introduction or development.

4. Holiday in Baghdad - rondo (alternating all themes from the first three parts).

Treatments

Scheherazade is one of Rimsky-Korsakov's most popular works. It is not only performed by academic musicians, but has also undergone many adaptations by pop artists.

• The English rock band Deep Purple arranged the first part of “Scheherazade” in the form of an electric organ composition “ Prelude: Happiness/I'm So Glad", with a Hammond organ solo performed by Jon Lord. The composition was included in the 1968 album Shades of Deep Purple.
• The English group Renaissance recorded a noteworthy album in 1975, Scheherazade and Other Stories, which is not based entirely on Rimsky-Korsakov's work, but contains a basic six-note motif that is a reference to Scheherazade.
• An arrangement of the suite is included in the 1971 album Konvergencie by the Slovak group Collegium Musicum.
• The Merlin Patterson Symphony Wind Orchestra (Houston, Texas, USA) created an unusual arrangement of “Scheherazade” for wind instruments, presented in 2005.
• A fragment of “Scheherazade” was used in the film “Prisoner of the Caucasus”.
• Music from "Scheherazade" was used in the cartoon "The Little Mermaid".
• A fragment from the fourth part of the suite (Shakhriyar's theme) was played by the orchestra at a performance at the Variety Show staged by Woland and his retinue (the novel The Master and Margarita).
• Music from Scheherazade was used in the closing ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
• Is the soundtrack to the television series

One of the most striking “oriental” scores by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, “Scheherazade,” immerses us in the atmosphere of the sound of oriental music with its characteristic intonations and whimsical melodic bends, with instrumental timbres recreating a fabulous, almost fantastic musical flavor.

During the summer of 1888, “Scheherazade” was written by Rimsky-Korsakov and first performed under the direction of the author in the 1888-1889 season in one of the “Russian Symphony Concerts”, organized by music publisher and philanthropist Mitrofan Belyaev. Since then, this work has gained great popularity among listeners.

The source of inspiration for the creation of the suite was the literary work “Tales of the Thousand and One Nights”.

Rimsky-Korsakov prefaces his essay with a short programmatic introduction:

Sultan Shahriyar, convinced of the treachery and infidelity of women, vowed to execute each of his wives after the first night; but Sultana Scheherazade saved her life by managing to keep him busy with fairy tales, telling them to him for 1001 nights, so that, prompted by curiosity, Shahriyar constantly postponed her execution and finally completely abandoned his intention. Scheherazade told him many miracles, quoting poems from poets and words of songs, weaving a fairy tale into a fairy tale and a story into a story.

Some of the most striking episodes of Scheherazade's wonderful tales became the basis for Rimsky-Korsakov's symphonic composition. Despite the fact that the suite contains many independent episodes, characters, and musical themes, the suite is united by a single concept, which is subordinated to the image of the main storyteller - Scheherazade. After all, she, possessing enormous erudition and a rich imagination, managed not only to save her life, but also to create a huge magical world full of incredible miracles and adventures.

Rimsky-Korsakov names the episodes he used as a program for individual parts: “The Sea and the Ship of Sinbad,” “The Fantastic Story of Kalender the Tsarevich,” “The Tsarevich and the Princess,” “The Holiday in Baghdad and the Ship Crashing on a Rock.” Perhaps that is why the musical narrative is constructed as a series of fairy-tale paintings and main characters with their characteristic musical themes.

But Scheherazade’s theme is tender and languid, performed by a melodious violin solo. In it you can hear the magic of the Arabian night, the enchanting voice of the young storyteller, and the mysterious flavor of wondrous oriental stories.

In the epilogue of the suite, Shahriyar's theme becomes soft and calm, because the cruel Sultan is pacified. For the last time, as the conclusion of the fairy tale, the theme of the young Scheherazade sounds. This ends the suite.

“Scheherazade” is one of the most striking works depicting the world of the musical East. It uses the principle of picturesqueness, a comparison of episodes of different nature, united by the theme of Scheherazade, reminding us that all this is the story of one person - the charming storyteller Scheherazade. There is no consistent plot in the suite's program, and there are no explanations for the content of the tales.

This suite is one of the examples of Rimsky-Korsakov's epic symphonism. It displays the same principles of epic musical dramaturgy (contrast, comparison of images) as in the composer’s epic operas. These principles are manifested both in the structure of the suite as a whole, and within individual parts of the work.

Oriental motifs

When Sergei Diaghilev was thinking through the program for the first “Parisian seasons” of the Russian ballet in 1910, he chose this particular work, along with “Polovtsian Dances” by A. Borodin and “Khovanshchina” by M. Mussorgsky. Implementing his plans, he understood well what exactly the public might like and that the French were very attracted to oriental influences. In 1910, Mikhail Fokine staged the ballet Scheherazade, starring Vaslav Nijinsky and Ida Rubinstein. The author of the magnificent costumes and scenery was Leon Bakst.

And in 1911, V. A. Serov, having seen “Scheherazade” in the program of the second Russian ballet season of Sergei Diaghilev in Paris, was so delighted with the colorful unusualness of the music and action that he created a huge (12 by 12 meters) curtain for the ballet.